There has been news out recently that CT scans end up giving cancer to about 30,000 people every year. Apparently the radiation that CT scans treat you to, has always been on the high side, and no one really understood this. There is something about radiation – you can never be really sure of yourself around it. The radio waves involved in the cell phones we use, scientists tell us, we have no real reason to worry about. But that’s what they would have said for CT scans even a year ago. Whatever they say about cell phone radiation, there is something good about it, believe it or not. They believe now that with someone who seems headed for dementia, a lot of exposure to cell phone or radio wave radiation would actually come with the side benefit of a certain degree of Alzheimer’s prevention. And not only would it prevent it, heavy cell phone usage would actually reverse memory loss in Alzheimer’s patients who are somewhat along down that road.

Well, they haven’t actually proved this in people; but they have proven it in mice. What, mice have Alzheimer’s, and you could tell the difference between a mouse with poor memory and one with healthy memory? What would a mouse have to remember you ask? Well, you do know that they have no end of experiments with mice in mazes, don’t you? The researchers started with good mice; they altered their genes so that the mice would start to get Alzheimer’s-like symptoms with plenty of brain-plaque – deposits of the protein beta-amyloid that has always been associated with Alzheimer’s. They put the mice in an environment filled with cell phone radiation, and demonstrated that the radiation heats the brain up, and melts the plaque away. So they believe now that immersing an Alzheimer’s patient in a radio waves, strong ones, actually might melt away the brain plaque inside, and achieve Alzheimer’s prevention or even reversal.

How exactly do the mouse tests translate to people? The researchers think that it should translate very well. They tested the mice for memory in things that people have trouble remembering, with Alzheimer’s. And the tests done on the mice were all adapted from tests used for humans. They are trying to use stronger and stronger radio waves on the mice now to see if this will help their Alzheimer’s any better.

A few high-profile studies done recently have found that there is a certain amount of risk of a brain tumor occurring with high levels of cell phone use, and the WHO has issued warnings advising children to stay away from cell phones. But for older people, perhaps, a little cellphone banter would not hurt.